Toronto residents 'antsy' after drone flies too close to their windows: 'It's creepy'
In downtown Toronto, it's not uncommon to see drones flying above public spaces. In parks and at special events, their loud buzzing — like a mechanical insect — can often be heard before they're seen.
But what can you do when drones are flying around your home? Or hovering by your bedroom windows?
That's exactly what happened to Janet (not her real name) earlier this year, when over the course of several days, a drone was flying around her apartment building in Toronto.
The first time she spotted it was late at night, when her roommate was home. They went to the balcony to try and film it, even throwing snow to shoo it away. The next night, Janet was home alone, partially undressed, when she heard the buzzing outside her window.
'I jump out of my bed, topless, and I see the face of the drone, level with my eyes,' she tells Yahoo Canada. 'What the f-ck do you do?,' she asks. 'What do you do and who do you tell?'
Janet crouched down and texted the building's group chat, but she didn't contact police.
What do you do and who do you tell?
A few nights later, a drone was spotted again hovering around several windows of the property. The building's group chat soon made a coordinated attempt to confront the drone's alleged owner, who was stationed in a nearby park. Police were called and the suspect, Graham Kelly, was eventually arrested and charged with two counts of voyeurism-related charges. He is due to appear in court in July.
Janet says she now feels 'antsy' being alone in her apartment, and she sometimes still thinks she hears the drone outside her window.
'I haven't been in the apartment alone that much since,' she says. 'Rather than looking at the cityscape, I keep my blackout curtains down.'
Drones can easily bought from outlets like Amazon, Best Buy and Canadian Tire. They range in sophistication and capacity of what they can do. Some are used as toys to be raced. Others can film video, and map, survey and monitor environments.
According to Transport Canada, all drone operators in Canada need to receive a drone pilot certificate to operate a drone over 250 grams. A person operating a drone must carry their licence while doing so, otherwise they can be fined up to $1,000. This is a printed or electronic document issued by Transport Canada. Acquiring a licence involves an online exam for the basic tier, and a flight test for more advanced operations.
The most popular drones for recreational use weigh more than 250 grams and cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. Drones under 250 grams won't fly for long — 31 minutes or less depending on environmental conditions, according to Philip Ferguson, a space systems engineer and the director of the University of Manitoba's StarLab, a research group that frequently uses drones and researches drone regulations and policy.
Ferguson says when it comes to flying drones, there's an additional federally regulated legal constraint about how close it can get to unsuspecting bystanders.
'You need to be 30 metres away from any non-participating person,' he says. 'You're not allowed to fly a drone over top of the public with a standard drone licence. But people do that all the time.'
You're not allowed to fly a drone over top of the public with a standard drone licence. But people do that all the time.
Ferguson notes that in Manitoba, where wildfires are currently burning out of control, firefighters have had to ground their helicopters as a result of drones being in their airspace. Transport Canada has strict rules around drone no-fly zones, like near airports.
Ferguson says other licence-related activities like hunting and driving are easier to monitor by law enforcement compared to flying a drone.
'There's police there to make sure we're obeying the rules of the road, but there aren't many people walking around a park or apartment complex making sure people are abiding by drone regulations,' he says. 'But it doesn't mean the rules don't exist.'
Drone sightings near residential buildings are becoming more commonplace, especially for city dwellers. In a recent post titled 'Flying drones around apartment windows' on a Toronto subreddit, a user in Etobicoke who had seen a neighbour fly a drone around their apartment window wondered if it was legal.
'Is this something that should be taken up with our landlord or police?' user No-Benefit3802 asked. 'I don't want this guy to be homeless, but it's getting creepy at this point'
'I'm in Mississauga and I live in a condo apartment and there is a drone that is being flown around our building frequently,' lama1122 wrote. 'I shut my blinds because it's creepy!'
Toronto Police say that while they don't receive many calls to their Communications Centre about drones, there are certain circumstances when it may be appropriate to call 9-1-1, particularly if the incident is time-sensitive or may involve criminal activity, such as mischief or voyeurism.
If someone reported a drone hovering outside their window, for example, an officer would likely be dispatched to try to locate both the drone and its operator, begin an investigation, and lay charges if warranted.
"We encourage anyone in this situation to take note of as many details as possible, including the drone's appearance, its movements, and any visible operator, and share that information with responding officers," a Toronto Police Department representative said in an email statement.
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